This week on TechHive: The streaming bundle vacation guide
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a reader, wondering why he couldn’t watch Hulu’s live TV service from his vacation home. It turns out that Hulu only lets users watch live channels on connected TV devices from their home address. Outside the home, you can only use a phone, tablet, or laptop.
That got me thinking about what other limitations apply for streaming bundles when you’re on the road. While none are quite as restrictive as Hulu, several other bundles do have limitations on watching local channels, viewing your local sports teams, and using too many TV devices at once. With the summer approaching, I’ve compiled a list of restrictions–along with some potential workarounds–over at TechHive.
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Weekly rewind
AirTV’s networked tuner arrives: Last December, Dish Network’s AirTV brand quietly launched a new box that relays free broadcasts from an antenna into the Sling TV app on other devices. That way, you get a single app and unified viewing guide for free over-the-air channels and Sling’s streaming channels.
This week, AirTV formally announced the product to the press (including yours truly). Unlike the AirTV Player, which launched in January of last year, the new $120 AirTV box does not output directly to a television. Instead, it streams video into the existing Sling TV app on Roku and Fire TV players, iOS and Android devices, and Android TV devices. It supports two simultaneous over-the-air streams at home, and also lets you stream to one device outside the house.
Unfortunately, AirTV won’t support DVR until later this year, so other networked tuners like Tablo and HDHomeRun are better bets for recording broadcast channels. But if all you want to do is consolidate your TV viewing into one app, AirTV could be a compelling option.
Nvidia Shield’s Android overhaul: One of the most interesting things about streaming TV devices today is that none of them agree on what the ideal interface should be. Roku, for instance, puts almost all its emphasis on launching individual apps, while Apple TV swings in the opposite direction by aggregating content into a unified “TV” app.
The Nvidia Shield TV–a 4K HDR streaming box that’s great for geeky types–is now trying to find a middle ground with an update to Android 8.0 Oreo. The new software lets users pin their favorite apps to the top of the screen, then provides several rows of content recommendations from individual apps. If you have Netflix or Hulu installed, for instance, you can preview what’s in those apps without having to leave the home screen, or jump directly into shows you’ve been watching recently. I recently received the update on my Shield, and am looking forward to sharing some impressions once I’ve had a chance to live with it for a while.
Here’s a nice change of pace from the usual streaming device deals. Sideclick is an infrared controller that attaches to the remote of your existing streaming device, adding programmable buttons for things like TV volume, power, inputs, and mute. Your remote won’t be as comfy to hold, but it’ll be a lot more useful, especially for Fire TVs and older Roku players whose remotes don’t have TV volume and power buttons built in. Sideclick usually costs $30, but Best Buy has the Fire TV version for $25, the Apple TV version for $25, and the Roku version for $20.
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